Awareness=Answers

Craig Meyers

The body of Craig Meyers was recovered in the Mississippi River this afternoon. He was last seen early February 14, 2010 in downtown La Crosse, Wisconsin. 

A vigil planned for this evening will now be a service of remembrance. His school, Western Technical College, put out the following message on Twitter:

“With great sadness we share that a body matching Craig’s description has been found. Tonight’s event will be a celebration of Craig’s life.”

* See earlier posts for details about Craig’s disappearance.

Kristi Piehl Uncategorized

What is happening in the search for Craig Meyers? It depends on which newspaper you read.

A set of footprints from downtown La Crosse to the river’s icy edge have been the focus of public speculation about Craig’s fate.  Police brought in dogs to track Craig’s scent.

According to the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, a dog did not pick up Craig’s scent.

According to the Pioneer Press in St. Paul, a dog did follow Craig’s scent to the river.

Can anyone in La Crosse clear this up?

Kristi Piehl Uncategorized

Craig Meyers

The search is on for another missing college-aged man in La Crosse, Wisconsin.  Craig Meyers, 21, was last seen early February 14, 2010 after spending the evening at a wedding reception and a couple downtown bars.

Just before 2:00 am, a relative  dropped Craig off several blocks away from his girlfriend’s house. Police say a set of footprints lead from the downtown area to the ice-crusted river. 

This is certainly difficult for people in La Crosse. I’ve received many emails and comments from people in the area. Since 1997, 8 college-aged men have been found drowned in La Crosse. Officials blamed each on alcohol and an FBI review found no sign of foul play.

Kristi Piehl Uncategorized

Dan Zamlen

St. Paul, Minnesota Police have closed the case of Dan Zamlen. The 18-year-old St. Thomas University student was last seen leaving a house party on April 5, 2009. His body was found in the Mississippi River nearly a month later. His death was ruled an “accidental drowning.”

After Dan disappeared, police investigators told reporters that dogs followed Dan’s scent towards the road and away from the water. 

A St. Paul Police spokesman says he can’t explain where Dan was from the time he vanished until the time he surfaced in the Mississippi.  He says there is nothing detectives uncovered that points to foul play. In fact, someone told investigators Dan may have been suicidal and questioning his sexual orientation.  Dan’s father says his son would not have killed himself and believes Dan’s death could be linked to the other drowning cases. 

In the 400 page police report, there is one witness who described hearing a scream and a car door slam on the evening Dan disappeared.  Also included in the report is something that happened to Dan on the day before he went missing. Apparently, he called someone and said he’d been robbed. 

Dan’s family says the St. Paul investigators didn’t do enough to find answers.

Kristi Piehl Case Updates

Darrel Dullum

On February 6, the body of Darrel Dullum was recovered from Prickly Pear Creek in East Helena, Montana. Darrel, a 30-year-old father, was last seen leaving a bar in the small town on December 5, 2009. He told people he was going to walk to his home which is located two miles north of the bar. He was found two blocks southeast of the bar encased in ice.

His hat was recovered five days after he vanished near Prickly Pear Creek. Crews and volunteers spent days searching the area, but investigators determined there wasn’t any evidence to suggest Darrel had fallen in the water.

Officials say Darrel’s body was recovered near the location of the hat. According to reports, Darrel’s wallet and phone were recovered with him.  Officials say they’ll probably never know why Darrel ended up in the water.

UPDATE – On February 10, investigators said autopsy results are consistent with drowning and they’ve ruled out foul play. Toxicology results will be completed in six to eight weeks.

Kristi Piehl Uncategorized

Since the disappearance of Jonathan Lacina in January, many people have emailed me and written on this site about other mysterious cases in Iowa. The interest in this topic has been so high, I thought you’d like a little more information about the incidents.

Jacob Hobson

Jacob Hobson, 27, was found in College Creek on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames on July 19, 2005.  Officials concluded that Hobson, who was visually impaired, drowned in a few inches of water after he accidentally fell from a creek bridge onto a concrete culvert.  An autopsy showed Hobson died as a result of drowning and blunt force trauma to the head. Police investigators found no sign of foul play and no evidence Jacob’s body was moved. 

Abel Bolanos

Abel Bolanos disappeared after leaving a party on March 31, 2007.  The 19-year-old freshman planned to walk from a party on South Hyland to his dorm, Wallace Hall, on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.  At about 4 am, officials say Abel unsuccessfully tried to enter his dorm building. He was spotted in the area by several witnesses and his debit card and credit cards were found along Hayward Avenue. On April 3, Abel’s body was recovered in the southeast corner of Lake LaVerne on the ISU campus. His death was ruled an “accidental drowning.” Click here to read more.

Paul Shuman-Moore

Paul Shuman-Moore disappeared on September 25, 2006.  When the family and friends of the Grinnell College student discovered a suicide note, they were shocked. They say he was happy, healthy and making plans with his band. His body was discovered 7 months later under a tarp covering a nearby country club pool. There are reports his hands were tied. Police ruled his death a suicide and his family is trying to raise awareness about undiagnosed depression in young people. Click here to see the website created in memory of Paul.

Jon Lacina

Kristi Piehl Connection or Coincidence

Iowa State University is taking an active role in the search for Jonathan Lacina. They are urging students to post flyers and use social networking sites to raise awareness.

(see previous posts for details about Jon’s disappearance)

While investigators have not found evidence of foul play, ISU is encouraging students to stay safe. In a news release, ISU is making the following suggestions to students:

Click to read the ISU news release.

Kristi Piehl Uncategorized

In one week in January, three young men disappeared in three different states under mysterious circumstances.  While search crews and detectives in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa try to figure out what happened, investigators are comparing notes to see if the cases are connected.

Sylvester McCurry, 18, was last seen leaving a club in Superior, Wisconsin on 1/17.  Eric Peterson, 24, was last seen in Lakeville, Minnesota, on 1/19.  His car was found two days later parked at the “Aquaport” near the  Mississippi River in Bloomington, Minnesota.  His valuables were discovered in his car. Jon Lacina was last seen leaving a friend’s apartment in Ames, Iowa on 1/22. He was supposed to walk 2 1/2 blocks to his apartment at Iowa State University, but never arrived.

According to kcci.com,  “Iowa State is working with Ames police and the state Division of Criminal Investigation on a possible connection with two other missing person cases in the Midwest. Both cases involve young men around the same age as Lacina and who went missing around the same time, one is from Minnesota and the other from Wisconsin. Investigators said it is too early to say whether there may be any connection between the cases, but investigators are looking into them and not ruling out any possibilities.”

The search for Lacina continues in Ames this week. You can help by distributing a missing persons flyer, click here to download a flyer.

Kristi Piehl Uncategorized

Jonathan Lacina hasn’t been seen since he left a friend’s apartment to make a 2 1/2 block walk back to his Iowa State University dorm on the evening of January 22.  Search crews haven’t turned up any clues about Jon’s whereabouts.

They’ve used ground and aerial teams to look for the 21-year-old college senior.  Crews have searched the campus and remote wooded areas in Ames, Iowa. They’ve also looked in Lake LaVerne, the lake on the grounds of ISU. It’s the same lake where Abel Bolanos was recovered in 2007. His death was attributed to alcohol.

Officials say they don’t suspect foul play in Jon’s disappearance, but they can’t rule anything out. If you have information about Jon, call authorities at 515.294.4428.

Click here to read more about the search.

* Thanks for the emails alerting me to Jon’s case. I’m praying for his safe return.

Kristi Piehl Uncategorized